Information processing apparatus and method, information processing system, and transmission medium

ABSTRACT

When a user gets interested in some music he/she listens to somewhere, for example, in a coffee shop, the user records that music in a memory provided in a portable terminal. A processor reads the information stored in the memory and performs a predetermined process on it. The resultant information is stored on a storage device. The information stored on the storage device is then transferred to a server via a communication device. The server searches the database for the title of the music corresponding to the received information, and returns the result to the terminal. Thus, the user can easily get information about the title of the music.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an information processing method andapparatus, an information processing system, and a transmission medium,and more particularly, to an information processing method, apparatus,system, and transmission medium that allow a user to store informationuser gets interested in regardless of where the user is and that allowthe user to acquire information associated with the stored informationon the basis of the stored information.

2. Description of the Related Art

When one watches a television program or listens to a radio program,he/she often wants to know the title, the name of the singer, or otherinformation about music being played in the program.

In the FM radio broadcasting, a “visual radio” is known in the art inwhich available spaces between the carrier frequencies are used totransmit textual information about the music being broadcasted in themain programs so that listeners can get the information about the music.In the case of ground wave television broadcasting, the listeners candownload the information about the music being broadcasted, using anintercast.

However, different terminals depending on the broadcasts are needed toget information about the music, such as the title or the singer's name.This limits the situation or environment in which the user can get theinformation. For example, it is practically impossible to get associatedinformation when the user is outdoor.

In view of the above, the object of the present invention is to providea technique to quickly and easily acquire associated information.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the present invention, as defined in claim 1,there is provided an information processing apparatus comprising:capture means for capturing information; memory means for storinginformation captured via the capture means; acquisition means foracquiring information associated with the information stored in thememory means on the basis of the information stored in the memory means;and display means for displaying the information acquired via theacquisition means.

According to another aspect of the present invention, as defined inclaim 4, there is provided an information processing method comprisingthe steps of: capturing information; storing the information captured inthe capture step; acquiring associated information on the basis of theinformation stored in said storage step; and displaying the informationacquired in said acquisition step.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, as definedin claim 5, there is provided a transmission medium for transmitting aprogram comprising: capturing information; storing the informationcaptured in the capture step; acquiring associated information on thebasis of the information stored in said storage step; and displaying theinformation acquired in said acquisition step.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, as definedin claim 6, there is provided an information processing apparatuscomprising: reception means for receiving information from a portabletype information processing apparatus; judgement means for judgingwhether the information received via the reception means includes anidentification code in a predetermined form associated with theinformation; and transmission means for transmitting informationassociated with the information indicated by the identification code tothe portable type information processing apparatus, depending on thejudgement result made by the judgement means.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, as definedin claim 7, there is provided an information processing methodcomprising the steps of: receiving information from a portable typeinformation processing apparatus; judging whether the informationreceived in the reception step includes an identification code in apredetermined form associated with the information; and transmittinginformation associated with the information indicated by theidentification code to the portable type information processingapparatus, depending on the judgement result made in the judgement step.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, as definedin claim 8, there is provided a transmission medium for transmitting aprogram comprising the steps of: receiving information from a portabletype information processing apparatus; judging whether the informationreceived in the reception step includes an identification code in apredetermined form associated with the information; and transmittinginformation associated with the information indicated by theidentification code to the portable type information processingapparatus, depending on the judgement result made in the judgement step.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, as definedin claim 9, there is provided an information processing system includinga first and second information processing apparatus, wherein said firstinformation processing apparatus comprises: capture means for capturinginformation; memory means for storing information captured via thecapture means; acquisition means for acquiring information associatedwith the information stored in the memory means on the basis of theinformation stored in the memory means; and display means for displayingthe information acquired via the acquisition means; and the secondinformation processing apparatus comprises: reception means forreceiving information from the first information processing apparatus;judgement means for judging whether the information received via thereception means includes an identification code in a predetermined formassociated with the information; and transmission means for transmittinginformation associated with the information indicated by theidentification code to the first information processing apparatus,depending on the judgement result made by the judgement means.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, as definedin claim 10, there is provided an information processing methodcharacterized in that a first information processing apparatus performsa process comprising the steps of: capturing information; storing theinformation captured in the capture step; acquiring associatedinformation on the basis of the information stored in the storage step;and displaying the information acquired in the acquisition step; and asecond information processing apparatus performs a process comprisingthe steps of: receiving information from the first informationprocessing apparatus; judging whether the information received in thereception step includes an identification code in a predetermined formassociated with the information; and transmitting information associatedwith the information indicated by the identification code to the firstinformation processing apparatus, depending on the judgement result madein the judgement step.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, as definedin claim 11, there is provided a transmission medium for transmitting aprogram in accordance with which the first information processingapparatus performs a process comprising the steps of: capturinginformation; storing the information captured in the capture step;acquiring associated information on the basis of the information storedin the storage step; and displaying the information acquired in theacquisition step; and the second information processing apparatusperforms a process comprising the steps of: receiving information fromthe first information processing apparatus; judging whether theinformation received in the reception step includes an identificationcode in a predetermined form associated with the information; andtransmitting information associated with the information indicated bythe identification code to the first information processing apparatus,depending on the judgement result made in the judgement step.

In the portable type information processing apparatus according to theaspect corresponding to claim 1, the information processing methodaccording to the aspect corresponding to claim 4, and the transmissionmedium according to the aspect corresponding to the claim 5, informationis captured and the captured information is stored so that informationassociated with the stored information can be acquired on the basis ofthe stored information and the acquired information is displayed.

In the information processing apparatus according to the aspectcorresponding to claim 6, the information processing method according tothe aspect corresponding to claim 7, and the transmission mediumaccording to the aspect corresponding to the claim 8, information isreceived from a portable type information apparatus and it is judgedwhether the received information includes an identification code in apredetermined form associated with the information. Depending on thejudgement result, information associated with the information indicatedby the identification code is transmitted to the portable typeinformation processing apparatus.

In the information processing system according to the aspectcorresponding to claim 9, the information processing method according tothe aspect corresponding to claim 10, and the transmission mediumaccording to the aspect corresponding to claim 11, the first informationprocessing apparatus performs the process comprising the steps of:capturing information; storing the captured information; acquiringassociated information on the basis of the stored information; anddisplaying the acquired information; and the second informationprocessing apparatus performs the process comprising the steps of:receiving information from the first information processing apparatus;judging whether the received information includes an identification codein a predetermined form associated with the information; andtransmitting information associated with the information indicated bythe identification code to the first information processing apparatus,depending on the judgement result.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of aninformation processing system according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of the terminalshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the process of storing information;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of informationincorporated into music;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the process of acquiring detailedinformation;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating another process of storinginformation;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating another process of acquiring detailedinformation; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating another example of theconstruction of the terminal shown in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Before describing the preferred embodiments of the invention, adescription of the aspects of the invention is first given in which anexample of element corresponding to each means is described inparentheses following the description of the means. However, it is notintended to limit the means to those described. Herein, the term“system” is used to describe a total system including a plurality ofapparatus, devices, and/or means.

The portable type information processing apparatus according to theaspect corresponding to claim 1 includes capture means (for example stepS11 in FIG. 3) for capturing information; memory means (for example stepS14 in FIG. 3) for storing information captured via the capture means;acquisition means (for example step S21 in FIG. 5) for acquiringinformation associated with the information stored in the memory meanson the basis of the information stored in the memory means; and displaymeans (for example step S24 in FIG. 5) for displaying the informationacquired via the acquisition means.

The acquisition means of the portable type information processingapparatus according to the aspect corresponding to claim 2 includestransmission means (for example step S21 in FIG. 5) for transmitting theinformation stored in the memory means to another information processingapparatus; and reception means (for example step S24 in FIG. 5) forreceiving the associated information from another information processingapparatus described above.

The acquisition means of the portable type information processingapparatus according to the aspect corresponding to claim 3 includesstorage means (for example information storage device 61 shown in FIG.8) for storing the acquired information.

The information processing apparatus according to the aspectcorresponding to claim 6 includes reception means (for example step S21in FIG. 5) for receiving information from the portable type informationprocessing apparatus; judgement means (for example step S22 in FIG. 5)for judging whether the information received via the reception meansincludes an identification code in a predetermined form associated withthe information; and transmission means (for example step S29 in FIG. 5)for transmitting information associated with the information indicatedby the identification code to the portable type information processingapparatus, depending on the judgement result made by the judgementmeans.

In the information processing system according to the aspectcorresponding to claim 9, the first information processing apparatuscomprises: capture means (for example step S11 in FIG. 3) for capturinginformation; memory means (for example step S14 in FIG. 3) for storinginformation captured via the capture means; acquisition means (forexample step S21 in FIG. 5) for acquiring information associated withthe information stored in the memory means on the basis of theinformation stored in the memory means; and display means (for examplestep S24 in FIG. 5) for displaying the information acquired via theacquisition means; and the second information processing apparatuscomprises: reception means (for example step S21 in FIG. 5) forreceiving information from the first information processing apparatus;judgement means (for example step S22 in FIG. 5) for judging whether theinformation received via the reception means includes an identificationcode in a predetermined form associated with the information; andtransmission means (for example step S29 in FIG. 5) for transmittinginformation associated with the information indicated by theidentification code to the first information processing apparatus,depending on the judgement result made by the judgement means.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the construction of aninformation system according to the present invention. A server 15includes a database 10 storing detailed information. A communicationdevice 30 is an apparatus by which a terminal 35 and the server 15 cancommunicate with each other via a network 20 including telephone linesor private lines.

In the case where a PHS (Personal Handy-Phone System) or a PDC (PersonalDigital Cellular) or the like is employed to realize the terminal 35,the terminal 35 itself has the communication capability and thus thecommunication device 30 is not necessary.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of the terminal35. This terminal 35 includes a communication device 40 that makes itpossible for the terminal to directly communicate with the server 15. Adisplay device 41 indicates various kinds of information. Aninput/output device 42 includes a microphone for inputting music orother information, a loudspeaker for outputting music or otherinformation, and buttons used to operate the terminal 35. A controller43 controls various elements of the terminal 35 and is realized, forexample, with a CPU (Central Processing Unit). A memory 44 is realized,for example, with a RAM (Random Access Memory) and serves to temporarilystore information input via the input/output device 42.

A processor 45 includes a filter for reducing noise contained in theinformation stored in the memory 44 and also includes a circuit forextracting desired data from the information. The information processedby the processor 45 is transferred to a storage device 46. The storagedevice 46 stores the information received from the processor 45 and alsoinformation received via the communication device 40. The storage device46 may be realized with either a removable storage medium such as afloppy disk or a fixed storage medium. The constituent elementsdescribed above are connected to each other via a bus 47.

The operation of the terminal 35 shown in FIG. 2 is described below withreference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3. We assume herein that a usercarrying a terminal 35 happens to hear some music, for example, in acoffee shop and gets interested in that music.

In step S11, the input/output device 42 of the terminal 35 is operated.The input/output device 42 includes a recording button which is pressedby a user to record music and also includes a microphone for inputtingmusic. If this button is pressed in step S11, then music is input viathe microphone.

In step S12, the controller 43 records, into the memory 44, the musicinput via the input/output device 42 when the recording button is beingpressed. In such a situation, the music may be directly recorded in thememory 44 or a tune whistled or hummed by the user may be recorded.

In step S13, the processor 45 reads the music data from the memory 44and performs a predetermined process on it. More specifically, noiseincluded in the music data recorded in the coffee shop is suppressedfirst. After suppressing the noise, a series of data shown in FIG. 4 isextracted from the music data if such a type of data is included in themusic data.

The series of data 51 consists of a plurality of frame 52 each includingthe same contents. The reason why a plurality of frames 52 including thesame contents are incorporated into the music data is because it isimpossible to predict when the user records music on the terminal 35 andthus it is required that the data be available whenever music isrecorded.

Each frame 52 consists of a starting code 53 and a music identificationcode 54. The music identification code 54 is a number uniquely assignedto particular music. The starting code 53 indicates the data position atwhich the music identification code 54 starts. The processor 45 of theterminal 35 detects the starting code 53 from the extracted series ofdata 51, and then detects the music identification data 54 followingthat. The detected data is transferred to the storage device 46 andstored thereon.

In the specific example shown in FIG. 4, the starting code 53 is 0×FEDCand the music identification code 54 is 01010122222.

The series of data 51 can be incorporated into music using a data hidingtechnique. The data hiding technique is reviewed, for example, in NikkeiElectronics, No. 2–24 (1997), pp. 149–162 and also in No. 3–10, (1997),pp. 153–168. This technique has some variations depending on whether thedata is hidden using phase, echo, or sound difference. The processor 45should include a circuit adapted to the specific data hiding techniqueso that the series of data 51 incorporated in music is correctedextracted.

If the data hiding technique is used, it is possible to incorporate allinformation representing the title of music, the name of the singer, thename of the album and other items associated with the music. However, ifa great amount of information is incorporated into music, then the musiccontains a great amount of noise component. This problem can be avoidedby limiting the information incorporated in music to only theinformation identifying the music whereby the music can be retrievedlater using that information. For example, the music identification code54 may be represented in accordance with the ISRC (InternationalStandard Recording Code) established in 1986 (ISO3901). For furtherinformation about the ISRC, refer to ISO3901 or the ISRC OperationStandard issued by Recording Industry Association of Japan. In the ISRC,a particular code is assigned to each music so that any music can beidentified by the ISRC. Each ISRC consists of a string of 12alphanumeric characters.

Each recording company provides information such as the title, singersname, composer's name, songwriter's name, genre, etc., associated withthe ISRC. Therefore, if such information is stored in relation to theISRC in the database 10 (FIG. 1), then it becomes possible to retrievedetailed information associated with desired music using the ISRC. Inthe following description, it is assumed that the music identificationcode 54 is represented by the ISRC.

In the case where an ISRC is detected in step S13, the processor 45transfers, in step S14, the detected ISRC to the storage device 47 andstores it thereon. On the other hand, if no ISRC is detected in step S13(that is, if no ISRC is incorporated in music), the processor 45transfers, in step S14, music to the storage device 47 and stores itthereon. As a result, the music containing no noise or, the ISRC isstored in the storage device 46 (hereinafter the information stored inthe storage device 46 is referred to as raw information). Informationrepresenting the date and time when the above information is stored isextracted from the timer provided in the controller 43. The extracteddate/time information is transferred to the storage device 46 and storedthereon together with the raw information. Alternatively, by operatingthe input/output device 42, the user himself/herself may inputinformation representing the date and time when he/she listened to themusic so that the date/time information is stored together with the rawinformation on the storage device 46.

When the user records music, if the user inputs via the input/outputdevice 42 information about the medium (for example, television, radio,etc.) in which the music is played, then that information is also storedtogether with the music. Although it is not necessarily required thatthe user should input this information, the information can also be usedto identify the music if it is stored.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the process of acquiring informationassociated with the music on the basis of the raw information stored inthe storage device 46. This process starts when the user operates aparticular button of the input/output device 42.

In step S21, the controller 43 of the terminal 35 transmits one of theraw information stored on the storage device 46 from the communicationdevice 40 to the server 15 via the network 20.

In step S22, the server 15 determines whether the received rawinformation includes an ISRC. If no ISRC is included, that is, if music(melody) itself is received, the process goes to step S23 and musicexpected to have the same melody as the received music is searched forfrom the database 10. The information such as the title, the singer'sname, etc., associated with the retrieved music is transmitted to theterminal 35.

If the received music includes additional information about thedate/time or the media, the information is used in the retrieval. Forexample, the additional information includes “January 1”, “8 a.m.”, and“television”, then the music file of the database 10 including musicbroadcasted on television, 8 a.m., January 1 is searched. This causesthe search to be narrowed and thus a smaller number of candidates areretrieved in a shorter time.

In step S24, if the controller 43 of the terminal 35 receives candidatesfrom the server 15 via the communication device 40, the controller 43displays them on the display device 41 and waits for the user to selectone of the received candidates via the input/output device 42.

In step S25, the controller 43 transmits a candidate selected by theuser to the server 15. In step S26, the server 15 retrieves detailedinformation corresponding to the received candidate from the database 10and transmits it to the terminal 35. This detailed information includesthe music itself.

In the terminal 35, the received music data is supplied to theinput/output device 42 and output via the loudspeaker. In step S27, theuser listens to the music and judges whether the music is desired one.The user inputs the judgment result to the terminal via the input/outputdevice 42. The controller 43 performs a proper process depending on theinformation input via the input/output device 42. More specifically, ifthe user judges that the music is not the desired one and inputs thejudgement result via the input/output device 42, then the controller 43returns the process to step S24 and again displays the candidates on thedisplay device 41. In this case, the candidate whose detailedinformation has already been received is displayed in a color differentfrom the color for the other candidates or is not displayed at all.

Steps from 24 to 27 are performed repeatedly until the user getsdetailed information associated with the desired music.

On the other hand, if the user judges in step S27 that the music is thedesired one and inputs that judgement result via the input/output device42, then the controller 43 stores the detailed information received onthe storage device 46.

If the server 15 determines in step S22 that the received rawinformation is an ISRC, then the process goes to step S29. In step S29,the server 15 retrieves detailed information corresponding to thereceived ISRC from the database 10 and transmits it to the terminal 35.

The process then goes to step S28, and the controller 43 stores thereceived detailed information on the storage device 46. In this case,the title of the music is displayed on the display device 41. Thedetailed information transmitted from the server 15 to the terminal 35includes not only music data but also other information such as thetitle of the music. In the case where only the title of the music isrequired, only the title may be transmitted.

The above-described process of acquiring the detailed information isstarted when the user properly operates the input/output device 42. Inthe case where the storage device 46 includes two or more pieces of rawinformation, the process from step S21 to step S29 is performed for eachraw information and the process is repeated until all pieces of rawinformation are replaced with the corresponding detailed information.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are flowcharts illustrating another method of acquiringdetailed information. First, in step S31 shown in FIG. 6, theinput/output device 42 of the terminal 35 is operated and music is inputvia it. In step S32, the controller 43 temporarily stores the inputmusic in the memory 44. Then in step S33, the processor 45 reads themusic from the memory 44 and suppresses noise contained in it.Furthermore, the processor 45 extracts an ISRC therefrom. In step S34,the controller transmits the extracted ISRC or the music (rawinformation) itself to the server 15.

In step S35, the server 15 determines whether the received rawinformation includes an ISRC. If no ISRC is included in the received rawinformation, that is, if music (melody) itself is received, the processgoes to step S36 and music expected to have the same melody as thereceived music is searched for from the database 10. The candidates(associated information) obtained as a result of the retrieval istransmitted to the terminal 35.

In step S37, the controller 43 of the terminal 35 stores all receivedcandidates on the storage device 46.

On the other hand, in the case where the server 15 determines in stepS35 that the received raw information includes an ISRC, the process goesto step S38. In step S38, the server 15 retrieves detailed informationcorresponding to the received ISRC from the database 10 and transmits itto the terminal 35. In the terminal 35, the detailed informationreceived is, in step S37, stored on the storage device 46.

The above-described process from step S31 to S38 is performed each timethe user records music.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the process of acquiring detailedinformation from candidates stored on the storage device 46. The usercan, at any time when the user wants, operate the input/output device 42of the terminal 35 so as to start the following process. If the commandto start the process is given, the controller 43 of the terminal 35retrieves candidates from the storage device 46. The controller 43displays the retrieved candidates on the display device 41 and waits forthe user to select one of them via the input/output device 42. Stepsfrom S42 to S45 following the above process are similar to those fromS25 to S28 shown in FIG. 5, and thus they are not described here infurther detail.

Although in the above-described embodiments communication between theterminal 16 and the server 16 is performed via the network 20,communication may also be performed in any another way. Furthermore,instead of the ISRC system, information incorporated into music may alsobe represented by any other code system.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating another example of theconstruction of the terminal. This construction is similar to that shownin FIG. 2 except that the communication device 40 is replaced with aninformation storage device 61. The information storage device 61 storesdetailed information associated with music. Therefore, it is possible toget detailed information by searching the information storage device 61without having to communicate with the server 15. The informationstorage device 61 may be realized using, for example, an IC card thatmay be removably attached to the terminal 35. A plurality of informationstorage devices may be prepared so that each information storage deviceincludes detailed information categorized by singers, genre, etc.Therefore, it is possible to get detailed information in any desiredcategory by attaching a proper card to the terminal. The informationstored in the information storage device 61 may be updated via thenetwork 20 or other communication media at proper intervals such asevery week, every month, etc.

The terminal 35 shown in FIG. 2 or 8 may further have the capability ofgiving a notice to the user if the same music is recorded twice or moretimes on the storage device 46. This capability allows the user to findhis/her favorite music.

Although in the embodiments described above it is assumed that theinformation recorded on the terminal 35 is music, the present inventionmay also be applied to any other type of information.

A program used to perform the above-described process may be stored on astorage medium such as a floppy disk or a CD-ROM and distributed tousers. Alternatively, the program may also be distributed to users bytransmitting the program via a transmission medium such as acommunication network thereby storing the program on user's hard disk ormemory.

As can be understood from the above description, the present inventionhas various advantages. That is, in the information processing apparatusaccording to the aspect corresponding to claim 1, the informationprocessing method according to the aspect corresponding to claim 4, andthe communication medium according to the aspect corresponding to claim5, the user can acquire information associated with the informationstored by the user. This allows the user to easily and quickly obtaindesired information.

In the information processing apparatus according to the aspectcorresponding to claim 6, the information processing method according tothe aspect corresponding to claim 7, and the communication mediumaccording to the aspect corresponding to claim 8, the information storedby the user on the portable type information processing apparatus istransmitted to another information processing device, which in turnreturns information associated with the received information to theportable type information processing apparatus. This allows the user toeasily and quickly to obtain desired information.

In the information processing system according to the aspectcorresponding to claim 9, the information processing method according tothe aspect corresponding to claim 10, and the communication mediumaccording to the aspect corresponding to claim 11, the secondinformation processing apparatus retrieves the information associatedwith the information stored by the user on the first informationprocessing apparatus, and transmits the resultant information to thefirst information processing apparatus. This allows the user, to easilyand quickly to obtain desired information.

1. A portable information processing apparatus adapted to exchangeinformation with another information processing apparatus via wirelesscommunication, comprising: capture unit configured to captureinformation; memory unit configured to store information captured viasaid capture unit; acquisition unit configured to acquire informationassociated with the information stored in said memory unit on the basisof the information stored in said memory unit via the wirelesscommunication; and display unit configured to display the informationacquired via said acquisition unit, wherein the information acquired viasaid acquisition unit is at least one of a title, a singer's name, acomposer's name, a songwriter's name and a genre.
 2. A transmissionmedium for transmitting a program to a portable type informationprocessing apparatus adapted to exchange information with anotherinformation processing apparatus via wireless communication, saidprogram comprising the steps of: capturing information; storing theinformation captured in said capture step; acquiring associatedinformation on the basis of the information stored in said storage stepvia the wireless communication; and displaying the information acquiredin said acquisition step, wherein the associated information is at leastone of a title, a singer's name, a composer's name, a songwriter's nameand a genre.
 3. A portable information processing apparatus adapted toexchange information with another information processing apparatus viawireless communication, compnsing: an input device configured to captureinformation; a memory configured to store information captured via saidinput device; a circuit configured to acquire, via the wirelesscommunication, information associated with the information stored insaid memory on the basis of the information stored in said memory; and adisplay configured to display the information acquired via said circuitconfigured to acquire information, wherein the information acquired viasaid circuit is at least one of a title, a singer's name, a composer'sname, a songwriter's name and a genre.
 4. The portable informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said input devicecomprises a microphone.
 5. The portable information processing apparatusaccording to claim 4, further comprising: a telephone function.
 6. Theportable information processing apparatus according to claim 4, whereinsaid circuit extracts identification information from at least a part ofmusic inputted via the microphone, the identification informationidentifying the music, and acquires information associated with theidentification information.
 7. The portable information processingapparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: a telephonefunction.
 8. The portable information processing apparatus according toclaim 7, further comprising: a cellular telephone function.
 9. A methodof processing information with a portable type information processingapparatus adapted to exchange information with another informationprocessing apparatus via wireless communication, said method comprisingthe steps of: capturing information; storing the information captured insaid capture step; acquiring, via the wireless communication, associatedinformation on the basis of the information stored in said storage step;and displaying the information acquired in said acquisition step,wherein the transmitted information is at least one of a title, asinger's name, a composer's name, a songwriter's name and a genre. 10.The method according to claim 9, wherein the capturing step comprisescapturing at least a part of music via a microphone.
 11. The methodaccording to claim 10, wherein the portable type information processingapparatus comprises a telephone function.
 12. The method according toclaim 10, wherein the acquiring step comprises extracting identificationinformation from the at least a part of music, the identificationinformation being to identify the music and acquiring informationassociated with the identification information.
 13. The method accordingto claim 12, wherein the portable type infonnation processing apparatuscomprises a telephone function.
 14. The method according to claim 13,wherein the portable type information processing apparatus comprises acellular telephone function.
 15. A portable information processingapparatus, adapted to exchange information with another informationprocessing apparatus via wireless communication, comprising: captureunit configured to capture information including at least timeinformation and music information; memory unit configured to storeinformation captured via said capture unit; acquisition unit configuredto acquire information associated with the information stored in saidmemory unit on the basis of the information stored in said memory unit;and display unit configured to display the information acquired via saidacquisition unit, wherein said information stored in said memory meansfurther comprises music and said acquisition unit acquires theinformation according to the time information and the music information.16. A method of processing information with a portable type informationprocessing apparatus adapted to exchange information with anotherinformation processing apparatus, said method comprising the steps of:capturing information including at least time information and musicinformation; storing the information captured in said capture step;acquiring associated information on the basis of the information storedin said storage step; and displaying the information acquired in saidacquisition step, wherein said step of capturing information comprisescapturing music, wherein said information stored in said memory meansfurther comprises music and said acquisition unit acquires theinformation according to the time information and the music information.17. A portable information processing apparatus adapted to exchangeinformation with another information processing apparatus via wirelesscommunication, comprising: capture unit configured to captureinformation including at least time information and music information;memory configured to store information captured via said capture unit;acquisition unit configured to acquire information associated with theinformation stored in said memory on the basis of the at least timeinformation and music information stored in said memory; and displayconfigured to display the information acquired via said acquisitionunit, wherein said time information corresponds to a time when a musicis playing and said information acquired by said acquisition unitrelates to said music.
 18. A method of processing information with aportable type information processing apparatus adapted to exchangeinformation with another information processing apparatus via wirelesscommunication, said method comprising the steps of: capturinginformation including at least time information and music information;storing the information captured in said capture step; acquiringassociated information on the basis of the information stored in saidstorage step; and displaying the information acquired in saidacquisition step, wherein said time information corresponds to a timewhen a music is playing and said information acquired in saidacquisition step relates to said music.
 19. A transmission medium fortransmitting a program to a portable type information processingapparatus adapted to exchange information with another informationprocessing apparatus via wireless communication, said program comprisingthe steps of: capturing information including at least time informationand music information; storing the information captured in said capturestep; acquiring associated information on the basis of the informationstored in said storage step; and displaying the information acquired insaid acquisition step, wherein said time information corresponds to atime when a music is playing and said information acquired in saidacquisition step relates to said music.
 20. A portable informationprocessing apparatus adapted to exchange information with anotherinformation processing apparatus via wireless communication, comprising:an input device configured to capture information including at leasttime information and music information; a memory configured to storeinformation captured via said input device; a circuit configured toacquire information associated with the information stored in saidmemory on the basis of the information stored in said memory; and adisplay configured to display the information acquired via said circuit,wherein said time information corresponds to a time when a music isplaying and said information acquired by said circuit for acquiringinformation relates to said music.
 21. A storage medium readable by amachine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by themachine to perform method steps for information exchange between aportable type information processing apparatus and another informationprocessing apparatus via wireless communication, said method comprisingthe steps of: capturing information including at least time informationand music information; storing the information captured in said capturestep; acquiring associated information on the basis of the informationstored in said storage step; and displaying the information acquired insaid acquisition step, wherein said time information corresponds to atime when a music is playing and said information acquired in saidacquisition step relates to said music.
 22. A portable informationprocessing apparatus adapted to exchange information with anotherinformation processing apparatus via wireless communication, comprising:capture unit configured to capture information including at least timeinformation and music information; memory configured to storeinformation captured via said capture means; and acquisition unitconfigured to acquire information associated with the information storedin said memory on the basis of the information stored in said memory,wherein said time information corresponds to a time when a music isplaying and said information acquired by said acquisition means relatesto said music.
 23. A portable information processing apparatus adaptedto exchange information with another information processing apparatusvia wireless communication, compnsing: an input device configured tocapture information including at least time information and musicinformation; a memory configured to store information captured via saidinput device; and a circuit configured to acquire information associatedwith the information stored in said memory on the basis of theinformation stored in said memory, wherein said time informationcorresponds to a time when a music is playing and said informationacquired by said circuit for acquiring information relates to saidmusic.
 24. A portable information processing apparatus adapted toexchange information with another information processing apparatus viawireless communication, comprising: an input device configured tocapture information including at least time information and musicinformation; a memory configured to store the information captured viasaid input device; and a communication device configured to transmit theinformation stored in said memory to said another information processingapparatus, wherein said time information corresponds to a time when amusic is playing.
 25. A portable information processing apparatusadapted to exchange information with another information processingapparatus via wireless communication, comprising: capture unitconfigured to capture information including at least time informationand music information; memory configured to store the informationcaptured via said capture unit; and transmission unit configured totransmit the information stored in said memory to said anotherinformation processing apparatus, wherein said time informationcorresponds to a time when a music is playing.
 26. A method ofprocessing information with a portabe information processing apparatusadapted to exchange information with another information processingapparatus via wireless communication, comprising the steps of: capturinginformation including at least time information and music information;storing the captured information; and transmitting the storedinformation to said another information processing apparatus, whereinsaid time information corresponds to a time when a music is playing.